Australia

Qantas Airways Ltd is temporarily idling about 2,500 employees without pay for at least two months in a bid to cope with fresh COVID-19 restrictions in Australia slashing domestic travel demand. The decision will directly impact domestic pilots, cabin crew, and airport workers, mostly in New South Wales, the airline …

A blaze at a massive Tesla battery site in Australia that started three days ago was brought under control on Monday, firefighters said. Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project — built by French renewable energy firm Neoen using Tesla batteries — on Friday morning. A …

Extroverted men who put their self-interests above others are most likely to ignore COVID-19 regulations, a new study published on Thursday found.

The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are “in danger” after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended …

The subtropical island arc is situated northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. The region is located in the Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone that is regularly shaken by powerful earthquakes. A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has hit the Kermadec Islands region in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51:28.4 UTC, EMSC reported …

Thousands take to the streets of the Australian city to protest against lockdown restrictions amid a surge in cases. Thousands of anti-lockdown activists marched through major Australian cities on Saturday, following an extension of Covid-19 restrictions. Multiple people were arrested and dozens charged with offenses after brawls broke out. Protesters …

The World Heritage Committee was set to consider Friday whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to UNESCO’s list of endangered sites, after high-level lobbying from Australia to prevent the move. The United Nations cultural agency recommended in June that the reef’s World Heritage status be downgraded because of its …

Brisbane was picked Wednesday to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the IOC to avoid rival bids. The Games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne was hosted in 1956. “We know what it takes to …

The Australian city of Sydney on Saturday ordered a shutdown of building sites, banned non-essential retail, and threatened fines for employers who make staff come into the office as new COVID-19 cases kept rising three weeks into a citywide lockdown. Authorities in New South Wales state, of which Sydney is …

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and US President Joe Biden, and other world leaders meet virtually on Friday for the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC, seeking collective actions to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts. New Zealand, the revolving Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation host, said this week it will …

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern on Monday announced a hastily convened extraordinary meeting of APEC leaders aimed at improving the Asia-Pacific region’s response to COVID-19 and its economic impact. Prime Minister Ardern is scheduled to host the annual 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit online in November but called an additional …

Australia reported its first coronavirus-related death of the year on Sunday and a record 77 new virus cases in the state of New South Wales, which is battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the numbers in and around the country’s biggest city …

Australia’s New South Wales state reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired coronavirus infections this year on Saturday, with authorities warning that worse may yet to come for Sydney, which is in a three-week hard lockdown. There were 50 new cases of community transmission in the country’s most populous …

The leader of Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state on Wednesday ordered a week-long extension of Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown, warning new cases are bound to rise as the country’s biggest city grapples with the highly infectious Delta variant. Sydney, home to a fifth of Australia’s 25 million people, was plunged …

Australia’s New South Wales state reported a fall in new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, following two days of record 2021 infections, as officials implored Sydney residents to follow rules so they could end a lockdown next week. Australia’s most populous state recorded 16 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, data …

Portugal said on Saturday it hoped to vaccinate a further 1.7 million people against COVID-19 over the next two weeks as authorities scramble to contain a surge in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant. Cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million, jumped by 2,605 on …

Australian officials extended lockdown and social distancing measures to more of the country on Wednesday, with four major cities already under a hard lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. Summary | NSW total cases in latest outbreak top 170 South Australia logs …

Sydney goes into a two-week lockdown as Darwin implements a two-day stay-at-home order amid a surge in cases linked to the Delta variant.

Sydney and some surrounding areas will enter a hard two-week COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday as authorities struggle to control a fast-spreading outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant that has grown to 80 cases.

China has made an appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over historic duties introduced by Australia concerning three Chinese products as part of a crackdown on unfair trade practices, including dumping.